Unfound
by StardustScavenger24
Summary: "There are no unwanted children, only unfound families." -unknown. A series of glimpses into the relationship between a Scavenger and The Princess of Alderaan in which they find family in each other. Mother/daughter-ish fic featuring Rey Nobody (as is current canon) but HEAVY on the Rey Solo feels.
1. This Garbage is Home

**Chapter 1:**

The Falcon hummed as it traversed through it's hyperspace pathway. It's blue lights streaked all around, forming a continuous tunnel. Everyone on board (it's scarce number of nineteen) slumbered in various spots. General Leia, Commander D'acy, Nien Nub, and Chewbacca got the only bunks available on the ship while the others hunted for comfy enough corners or seats. A self-sacrificing few grabbed packs and wadded up jackets and hunkered down on the cool floor. Thankfully, they were all so worn out and drained from the day's catastrophic, mind-blowing, events that it didn't matter where they laid their head. They were passed out within seconds.

All but one restless scavenger who couldn't seem to quiet her thoughts. She'd long ago tip-toed into the ship's cockpit and now sat hugging her knees to her chest in the co-pilot seat. The ship was now as familiar as her converted AT-AT dwelling and the only other place she felt truly at home. She'd grown to be comfortable anywhere in it. The fresher, the quarters, the storage, the bowels beneath the floorboards...but the small alcove she now occupied, that was where she felt safest. Next to the seat that belonged to Han Solo. There, she could aimlessly watch his golden dice swing and sway with the movements of the Falcon and be distracted. Distracted from the recent feeling of an ancient figure clawing through her mind. From the memory of watching in terror as ship after ship of the Resistance burst into sparks and flames. Most of all, to be distracted from slipping into an exhausted slumber and having to dream. In her dreams, she often found herself as a child again: Reliving those days of confusion and nights of fear, stitching together a pilot doll so she wouldn't feel so alone, clinging to a helmet that belonged to Dosmitt Raeh. Her dreams always abandoned her back on Jakku, her newfound family lost. It had always been hard to get through until morning but tonight, rest was impossible. Whether asleep or awake, she couldn't escape the despair.

" _They were filthy junk traders. Sold you off for drinking money."_ It couldn't be true...could it? Yet that sharp feeling whirling in her gut felt like evidence. The fragments of memory surrounding her origin and desertion were clouded in darkness, pain, and fear. She knew without a doubt, with old emotions surfacing, that her parents would never come back for her. She'd always known. She made up their destined return to survive the anguish. But why couldn't they? Wouldn't they? She refused to consider those aching questions her entire life. And now because of Kylo, those questions were bursting from the tiny spaces she'd buried them in at six years old: Had her parents even loved her? Had she ever been important to them? To anyone? What if her parents really were selfish cowards from Jakku who sold her for drink and never looked back? Why her? Why couldn't she have been raised by loving parents? Or...Why couldn't her parents have been Han and—

"Can't sleep?" came a familiar raspy voice. Worn by years of battle speeches but gentle.

Rey lifted her eyes from the empty chair towards the entry. There stood General Leia Organa in all her glory. Eyebrow quirked in curiosity. She obviously was not expecting anyone else in the cockpit. Rey answered a simple, "No," while she wiped the indication of tears from her cheeks. Even as new ones started to form.

Han would've chided, "Suck it up, Kid," without meaning the roughness that came out with it. He would've been uneasy from the emotion he'd stumbled upon but his eyes would've been soft and empathetic. They would've squinted and the corner of his mouth would've tilted upwards with the intention of saying something soothing but he wouldn't have known exactly what and ended up not saying anything at all. With Han, it was easy for Rey to sense his intentions, where his delivery failed. Rey found a fatherly kind of comfort in his clumsy displays of "reluctant" sweetness and it meant more than words (probably more than it should have) that he tried at all. He was awkward in his goodness but he was _good._ He'd have collapsed into the pilot's seat, maybe gracelessly patted her head, and pretended to ignore her to check the navi-computers but he would've stayed with her until he knew she was okay.

Leia was more in-tune with her ability to reassure. The older woman replied with a melancholy smile, a sad sort of understanding that Han would've been unable to portray as easily, "No, I imagine not. Eventful day, lots to process." Rey thought Leia would find something else to attend to or that the General might request to have a moment alone in her husband's space. Instead, Leia tilted her head towards the pilot seat, "Mind if I sit too?"

Rey shook her head in answer, "Of course not."

The younger woman observed as Leia sunk down. As she ran her hands along the arm rests and looked about the console, her gaze finally catching the movement of Han's dice and then lingering there. Rey hadn't seen the breakdown the General had right after they'd skated away from Crait; how she all but collapsed in grief and how Chewbacca struggled to soothe her. Leia never let anyone witness an absence of strength or resilience...but Rey felt the tumult surrounding the woman in the Force. The Princess had known Han and Luke—loved them— much deeper and for far longer than the Scavenger had. Rey's heartbreak could be of no comparison to Leia's. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to have her own sorrow compounded to the degree of the woman before her. The more the Scavenger mulled it over, small ribbons of that sorrow mixed with ribbons of guilt. Han, Luke, Ben...Leia's whole world, whole family, gone. And Rey had been sitting here crying tears over parents she didn't remember and the smuggler she only briefly and barely knew. Pitying herself. She offered what she could, "I'm sorry I didn't save him. I could've...I should've."

"It was brave of you to go alone. I appreciate your efforts more than I can express, but I don't think there was anything you could've done," stated The General, matter of fact but still despondent. "My son doesn't want to be saved." And mistaken.

"No, not him." Rey bristled at the mention of Kylo. Her disappointment at his refusal to fight for the light was still fresh. But her eyes softened with her correction, "Han." There and then, she saw it all over again, despite herself. The image of the scruffiest, kindest, man she'd ever met with the end of a red lightsaber piercing through his back. The only father figure she'd ever had (or could remember) tumbling off the walkway limp and lifeless. And all she'd done was watch and scream. "If I'd just known what to do with this, this power, inside me, I-—" If she had known then what she knew now, she could've stepped in. Saved him. Or at least bought some time.

"It might've happened either way," Leia offered. Face as grateful for the sentiment as it was pained about the reminder. She reached over and took one of Rey's hands, "His death is not your burden to bear, Rey. It's Ben's." Generous as though that statement was, the truth of it hurt. Rey would've gladly carried the burden of protecting Han's life, especially if it came with the privilege of calling him her father. The love that Kylo so vehemently rejected was enviable. Even as Han's life-force sifted from his body like sand, there was this immense, unconditional, love exuding from him. His son was a murderer—his own murderer—and yet his love for him never wavered. Rey never received any love as far back as she could remember, and all she was was a little girl who yearned to please.

She dropped her gaze from Leia just as Leia released her hand. A few moments passed with the two women giving way to silence.

Leia had not been able to shake the horrors of late either. The feelings that came with death, betrayal, loss, and war. She was yet to fully process the peace with which her twin had left the living world much less the cruelty with which her husband had. Leia hadn't seen Han tumbling off into the abyss but she'd felt the instant his flame was so callously snuffed out. Felt her whole body freeze from the loss of his warmth and the very core of her ripped from her body as the truth of his murder rang out through the force. The truth that the monster Kylo Ren had destroyed the final fragments of her son along with his father. With weakness in her knees, she sought solace from Luke, reached out into the threads of the galaxy for someone to share her pain. Where she hadn't been able to connect with her brother, Leia had found another source of light, throbbing with righteous anger and insurmountable grief... Rey.

Rey, who felt the peculiar pain of losing a parent that was never hers. Who felt the pain Ben should've.

"What was he like? As a father, I mean?" came from Rey.

Leia's mouth automatically spread into a smile. Her eyes focused downward as if seeing the memories in a holo in front of her very eyes. "Clumsy with his affection but attentive. Not entirely patient but loyal, proud. He was the fun one, I think." Leia snickered, "Han used to hike Ben up on his shoulders and let him steer him around like a starship. Anywhere they were...through the senatorial building, the space port. They'd have pretend blaster fights and races." Rey could almost envision the memories too. A clean and pristine living quarters high up in a starscraper on a fancy planet like Coruscant or Hosnian Prime. A family protocol droid zipping about trying to keep things tidy. And a younger, happier, Han Solo, free of worry lines...hiding from his giggling son, his hands held together and fingers pointed like a blaster. "Broke a bunch of things while they played...knocked Threepio off a balcony sixty-something levels high on one of our vacations to Harloff Minor," commented Leia, "But the laughter was enough to make up for it. And as you can see, Threepio is just fine." She finished with a confident and fond assessment, "He was a good father."

Seeing Rey's wistful smile as she imagined the scene described stirred up sympathy in Leia. Han mentioned that this young woman reminded him of himself at that age. Discarded, forgotten, lonely, searching for somewhere to belong. But he saw a spark in her too. A determination and a brightness. A _hope._ A similarity to Leia as well. The more time Leia spent with Rey, the more she noticed these qualities too. The more she felt the same endearment towards the girl that her husband had. And the more she thought of what might've been if they never lost that other baby. Rey's obvious attachment to the smuggler made imagining that much easier. "He always wanted a little girl..." Leia stated, without realizing she'd done so aloud. That is, until Rey's eyes cut up to hers with a renewed fire of curiosity. _Hope._ Maybe there was a different truth hidden in between Kylo's heartless accusations. Maybe Ben had lied to keep their parents to himself...as silly as that sounded. Every piece of evidence pointed to otherwise. Pointed to nobodies. But Rey felt so connected to the Solos—The Skywalkers— sensed such a strong bond from the start with all of them...maybe, just maybe, it was the force nudging her towards her true family. Somehow there was an explanation. Somehow she was theirs. Could it be?

Kylo was right...she couldn't let go. Not completely.

"We both did," explained the Princess, "We tried and tried to have another child but it just wasn't meant to be..." Rey swallowed hard as her heart cracked further, dissolving into that same state she'd been before Leia came in. She hoped the General couldn't discern what was going through her head: _Why couldn't it have been that way? Why couldn't they have been mine? And I have been theirs?_

"I think that's why he liked you so much. Or partly, at least."

The young woman believed he might. Or _hoped._ And she clung to the confirmation of their connection eagerly. At least it was something..."He did?"

Princess Leia then gave her that infamous smirk and quipped, "Well Han wasn't one to offer just anyone a job on the Falcon. Or anyone at all, for that matter." Leaning forward, she added, "Not that there was a crowd lining up to work in this piece of garbage in the first place but you know what I mean." Her sentence was punctuated with a wink and Rey couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think it's garbage," Rey commented, to which Leia gave her a disbelieving look and gestured to the mound of twigs at the base of the console: A porg's nest invited by Chewbacca's guilty conscience. Rey then amended, "It's charming garbage."

"That it is." Leia stood and ran her hand along the back of her usual seat, "This garbage is home."

Rey understood the General's nod as a goodnight and smiled at her as she left.

That night (or early morning) when sleep finally took over The Jedi...instead of finding herself in a dilapidated AT-AT, Rey dreamed of somewhere high in the clouds. Instead of rust and stale air, the scent of Corellian sausage and peppers sitting hot on the Alderaanian-decorated dinner table. Instead of a random rebel helmet, the tiny little girl with three buns donned the helmet of her trusty Uncle Luke and was lifted into the air and onto a playful smuggler's shoulders. All night, the two bounced and spun and lobbed about the room...the sound of Princess Leia's laughter bubbling behind them.


	2. A Meager Meal

**Chapter 2:**

Leia poured over R2-D2's star map, searching out a planet inconspicuous yet resourceful enough for them to land on. The First Order had spread like a virus and they no doubt would expend every troop and fleet in their possession to find and wipe out the remainder of the Resistance—the galaxy's last hope. Leia was still waiting on contact from her personal allies but this small group aboard the Falcon could no longer stall by zig-zagging about in space. A haven needed to be found _soon._ They'd last two more days after cutting everyone's sustenance allotment into half portions. Threepio, of course, made the search more difficult by appearing every half standard hour with an obvious update of how increasingly worse their situation was, thus thwarting Leia's attempt to concentrate.

She'd always bore the responsibility of whole rebellions and governments on her shoulders. But she'd always had help from Mon, Han, Ackbar, and Holdo to hold her arms up when the weight had pushed her to her knees. And she'd forever had that connection to Luke; No matter how far apart they were, she could at least reach out with the force and feel his light and it was enough to know she'd never be alone. As the rock of stability for everyone else, and with most of her own pillars of support gone, she was struggling to carry what was left of the Resistance without stumbling. Thank goodness she at least had Chewie to lean on. And Poe.

"Have you got it figured out yet?"

And Rey.

Rey trekked in with her tray; back from helping Rose distribute everyone's final shares. She pulled up a crate close to where Leia was standing and eagerly sat to rip open her polystarch powder and freshly heated veg-meat. Anyone who hadn't lived on Jakku had trouble stomaching the emergency-stash meals at first. But now, with one minuscule meal stretched out over the course of the day, just looking at the green slab of protein or smelling the bland gray powder as it rose into a roll was enough to get everyone's stomachs roaring. Leia ignored the rumble and shook off the dull ache in her head, "I think so. We'll get the parts we need in Thabeska," she pointed to a beige sphere hovering at eye level, "bulk up provisions, scan the planetary system for crafts we can buy." Rey's eyes followed Leia's finger as it moved diagonally towards a muddy orange planet, "Meanwhile, I'm sending Poe and Black Squadron to Ikrukk. They are one of the few in this system who hasn't been occupied and I'd like to make an ally of them before the First Order does." Leia's proficiency for strategy was fascinating to Rey. She liked to sit in on Leia's brainstorm sessions when she could and the General didn't seem to mind company if it wasn't a gold droid. "Have we had any transmissions from Inferno Squad? Or Snap and Kare?"

"Not that I know of but I haven't been in the cockpit," the girl paused after pouring her packet of powder into the plasti-bowl, "Want me to find Commander D'acy?"

"No. I'm sure if there were any updates, Threepio would've bothered me about it."

Rey suppressed a laugh at Artoo's beeps of agreement. As she stirred her powder into the water, Leia began to sift through a stack of crates. "Anything I can help with?" offered Rey, from her spot.

"No. Go ahead and eat," insisted the General, "I'm just looking for field-wear. Thabeska is a dusty world, what I'm wearing will stand out. We can't afford to raise suspicions before I can contact the Fardi Cla-" Suddenly, dizziness took hold of the General and her legs gave out. Thankfully, she caught herself on the table (acting as her desk) nearby, but the stack of crates tumbled. Seeing movement in her peripherals, Rey snapped up. First her hand instinctively reached out to stop the crates in mid-air before they crashed and spilled their contents, then she let them drop to grab Leia's elbow and steady her.

"I'm fine." Protested Leia before Rey could open her mouth. Rey sat the older woman down on another crate and knelt in front with worry-stricken eyes. "Are you sure, General?"

Rubbing her forehead and shaking off the ordeal, Leia replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just get a little shaky now and then since..." she rolled her eyes, "you know." The General hated reminding people of the incident because then they suffocated her with gentleness as if she was a delicate wilting Felucian flower. Leia was a damn hutt-slayer for Galaxy's sakes, not a feeble has-been.

Rey nodded emphatically, "You were blown out of the bridge of a ship." Rey was on Ahch-To when it happened but Finn relayed it one day while they were catching up. In retrospect, Rey had felt a momentary pause from a great source of light back on the island...but in her training she was exploring so many connections to the force and the feelings they brought, that she hadn't dwelt on who or what it was.

"Takes a little bit out of a person but I'm _fine."_ To prove her point she grabbed for her data pad and busied herself with it. The problem was that...unlike with Threepio who was aloof, or with Poe who she could order away, or with anyone else who was afraid to push her, Leia couldn't glaze over how she was really faring with Rey. Rey could feel it. Rey could feel tendrils of tiredness crawling all over Leia and sense the toll that insufficient nutrients were taking on the recovering General's body. Leia's light was dim and gradually fading. Rey could feel the evidence of what everyone suspected...General Leia's health was on the decline and if it didn't take an enormous turn for the better, she might die. With one last look at her tray, the Scavenger placed it on Leia's lap. "Here. Have my portion too. I'm used to going a few days without food. I can handle it."

Princess Leia was touched but scoffed, "You eat your food, Rey." Smiling, she patted Rey's hand, "I've had my share. I don't need it." If it were Poe, she might've accepted the gesture. If it were Chewie, she certainly would have. Even if it were Finn, she would've given consideration—she felt that bad off. But she couldn't think of taking food from this poor desert child who'd been deprived of nourishment so often that it was more normal for her than not. Rey more than deserved her portion and Leia had enough to distract her from the feelings of hunger; She needed to re-check the inventory and make a list of needed supplies so their stop on Thabeska could be swift. In and out. Safe as possible. She'd worry about the outfit after that...or have Connix come in and dig through the storage.

"You need it more than I do," countered Rey.

Leia returned the tray to Rey's hands and stood, walking back to the desk and star map, "I appreciate your concern but I'm not going to let my crew starve for me. I'll eat my fill when we get to Thabeska." The woman touched the tiny floating planet and it expanded to show it's ground map. Her chin rested regally on her hand, her elbow on the table. "Artoo, pinpoint the Fardi Clan's salvage yard please."

Rey stood and followed with her tray. The General couldn't make a full recovery on a handful of food and half canteen of water a day. It was imperative that Leia recover, that Leia survive. It was as much the Resistance's responsibility to care for their leader, as it was for her to look out for them. What would they do and where would they be, if they lost her? The thought was unimaginable. It felt like they would crumble and scatter without the glue of their General. To let Leia weaken, when Rey could do something about it, was not something she could accept. She tried to reason, "Thabeska is at least another standard day and a half's lightspeed journey. On a half day's ration."

Leia's eyes flashed with aggravation, "I swear, I get a little tired and everyone wants to put me in a med pod." She looked up from swiping over the map and met the younger woman's eyes, flat and decided, "Eat or leave the briefing room. That's an order." Leia hated to be that way. Rey's intentions were pure, after all, but she refused to be coddled and it was best Rey learn that now.

The Jedi dropped her eyes. Last thing she wanted was for Leia Organa to be irritated with her. To feel that Rey had anything but respect for the General. For Leia not to want her around. Still...After a standard minute, Rey sighed and meekly placed her polystarch bun on the desk near Leia's rested hand.

"Rey..." started the older woman trying to hide the displeasure. The younger one cut her off, "I don't like the starch." Clearly a lie but her gaze was earnest. "If you don't want it, I'll probably just give it to Chewie." Rey sliced a piece of her veg-meat and popped it into her mouth, avoiding the General's stare and trying to be casual. Finally, Leia took the starch bun, tore off a piece, and popped it into her mouth. When Rey's eyes met hers again, they were grateful (albeit reluctantly so).

"Thank you."

Rey just nodded and smiled satisfactorily as she continued chewing her slab of protein. Leia thought it was incredibly endearing to see such joy in the young Jedi from something as simple as her meager meal and the pride of sharing it. Leia smiled at her without Rey noticing before appreciatively devouring more of the bun.

* * *

Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying this story and would like to read more, please leave a review!


	3. Birth Parents

**Chapter 3:**

" _You have no place in this story. You're nothing," Kylo Ren stated matter of fact as Rey felt tears running down her cheeks; the sting of the droplets felt hotter than the fire falling around the throne room. With a blink, Kylo was gone and her field of sight was blinded by a brilliant blue. The young woman shielded her face with her forearms until the object in front of her came into focus. And when it did, the whirring and groaning sound of the Falcon's engines came to life. "No!" A gust of wind blew her back as it's landing gear retreated and it lifted off the ground. "Wait!" Rey called but her voice was drowned out. In a panic, she whirled around herself, looking for anyone who might've stayed with her. "Finn?" No he'd stayed on the ship with Rose. "Chewbacca?" No one was there._

 _And what's worse, the whole city looked deserted for miles and miles. Not another being on the planet._

 _Rey ran through the sand swirls on Thabeska, screaming at the top of her lungs, heart beating through her chest so vehemently she felt it'd burst right through her rib cage onto the ground. "Wait for me! Come back!" The ship was climbing higher and picking up speed across the dust laden town. The Scavenger sprinted as fast as her legs could, but her boot caught a rock jutting out of the dirt and she tripped forward. Rey felt the tears coming back, felt the same sickness she had when she was six years old. Then she remembered! "Leia..."_

 _Leia had given her a wrist beacon before she'd left for Ahch-To so she could always find a way home to the Resistance. If she couldn't find them, all she had to do was send a signal of her own and they would find her. They would come back for her. She clambered to sit up and activate it—but it flew off her wrist into the gloved hand of the dark figure once again towering over her. Kylo Ren."You're nothing, Rey. You were a pity to Han Solo, a nuisance to Skywalker, and you will never be anything to my mother." The beacon dropped to the ground and was crushed by his boot._

 _"No!" the woman screamed and swept her foot under Kylo's to knock him to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and reached out, used every ounce of power within her to hold the Falcon in place, "Please! Come back!" A sudden sharp pain bloomed through Rey's head, caused by the butt of Kylo's lightsaber, and the world went black. Rey's hold on the Falcon slipped as she blinked rapidly to regain vision amidst the stars. The next image she saw was_ _The Falcon disappearing into a twinkle of light as it left the star system. Rey cried out into the void one more time, reached out with the force, using all the power she knew how to, "LEIA!"_

The General shot straight up, ripped out of sleep from an agonizing cry. Had it been in her mind? Or had she heard it aloud? She was sure she recognized the voice but her grogginess made it difficult to picture who it belonged to. As her body slowly became aware of being awake, it sensed a suffocating cloud of anxiety churning about in the force. Shrugging on her robe, she padded over to Artoo and had him run a scan through the Falcon to make sure all was in order. The Resistance found it best to sleep in the ship instead of scattering themselves about in rented hovels across Thabeska. This way, they would save credits _and_ could leave at a moment's notice. Leia paid no attention as Artoo exited her quarters, already headed back to bed, until she heard a metallic bump along with some beeps and a hushed, "Sorry, Artoo."

When Leia peeked out she saw, "Rey?"

Startled, Rey took a step back, "General Organa." The woman looked half-awake, squinting in the darkness, her voice gruff with exhaustion. Rey fumbled to apologize, wincing, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I was looking for Finn."

The cabin lights caught a shimmer on Rey's cheek and instantly Leia knew whose voice it had been calling out to her. Ben used to do the same thing as a child and young man. His connection with the force was so powerful that he would unintentionally reach out to Leia while he was having a distressing dream. Many a night, the Princess would wake up in a silent apartment with screaming in her head and hurry to Ben's side. She often was already there, smoothing his sweaty black hair away from his face, and cradling him before he woke up crying. Han knew she could predict their child's nightmares because of their shared strength with the force but he never quite understood it. Sometimes she felt bad for Han, when she caught his look of insecurity, and she'd urge him go to Ben instead so he could share a moment of comfort with their son. She wished he was here, now. He knew Rey a little better. Leia shrugged, "I was already awake," then asked casually, "Bad dream?"

Rey nodded.

"You want to talk about it?"

The Scavenger shifted awkwardly, "I don't want to keep you up."

It prompted the General to wave her in, "Come on, let's talk. Do you like Gatalentan tea? Han kept pounds of it on board."

Rey shrugged, "I've never tried it." She took one last look at Artoo rolling away to complete his task and followed Leia into the Captain's Quarters, at the older woman's behest.

Leia switched on the cabin's lights and moved about comfortably, her robe swishing with movement as she fished in one of the drawers for the stash of tea cubes. In contrast, Rey cautiously sat on the edge of the bed (since it was the only spot one could sit), careful not to disrupt even a wrinkle of Leia's space. The General placed a caf canteen on the warmer and then turned and leaned against protruding counter. Rey noted how long the General's hair was...she never would've guessed. No one ever saw it down or free of intricate twists and braids. "So...tell me about the dream."

"It's a dream I have a lot...I'm always left behind on Jakku. Forgotten. Screaming for someone to come back for me. It feels so real." A small confession, with little detail about the actual dream, that took a standard minute to muster up the courage to share...but it was the root of Rey's insecurities. Rey waited for Leia to comment but no reply came. A peek at the older woman revealed that she was still positioned against the counter, listening intently, her arms folded across her chest. Unlike Kylo Ren-who was the only other person to discover how deep-seated Rey's fears about belonging were-General Leia didn't push. Didn't pry. Didn't coax more information out of Rey than she was ready or comfortable to give. Instead, Leia's patient eyes reassured Rey that all she would ask for was all Rey was willing to share. And the words flooded out of the Scavenger easily, "This time I was left on Thabeska, by the Falcon. It didn't matter how fast I ran or how loud I called, it wouldn't come back..."

The General's eyebrows furrowed and suddenly Rey felt embarrassed. She amended, "I know it sounds stupid."

"It's not stupid," Leia shook her head. It showed how attached the girl had become to her friends, to the Resistance. She saw them as a new kind of a family...and now she feared the past with her parents would repeat itself somehow. The stress of the past couple weeks probably didn't help at all either. "I can't imagine how traumatic it was for a child to go through what you did...but you're with us now. This is home, if you want it to be."

Rey felt a surge of gratefulness. Her heart warmed with joy at the word 'home'.

Two blue lights blinked to the sound of one loud beep. The hot water was ready. The General poured the steaming liquid into two round plasti-steel mugs, crushed a tea cube into each, stirred, and then took a slotted spoon and fished the herbs out. Rey took a long appreciative sniff when Leia handed her a mug. It smelled of fruit and Arkesian cinna-spice...and she briefly remembered the scent wafting from Han's quarters during the hyperspace flight toward Takodana.

Leia got comfortable on her bed, making sure to leave Rey plenty of space. "We're grateful to you for your help on Crait. And _I_ am _so_ grateful to you for helping find Luke. For reaching out to my son." Rey didn't know why anyone would be grateful to her over what transpired. She hadn't been very successful...They left Crait with fewer than thirty members of the Resistance, Luke had passed into the Force, and Kylo Ren was more committed to the dark side than ever...but she didn't argue. "You couldn't get rid of us if you tried," declared General Organa, "And trust me, a few more weeks of smelling Nien Nub's feet at the end of the day and you might try." Rey broke into a smile. Nien Nub's species had very potent foot odor...everyone had gotten a whiff of his boots airing out in the corridor.

Since she'd never had tea before (or any hot liquid besides water that'd been out in the Jakku sun, for that matter), she took a cue from Leia and blew on the liquid first. The heat still stung her lips when she sipped but the warmth traveling down her throat into her belly was decidedly soothing enough to keep nursing the mug. "I don't know why I can't let it go," commented Rey. She then clarified, "My past on Jakku. I don't understand how I can hate two people I hardly remember _so much_...and at the same time wish to know them more than anything."

Leia commiserated, "I've felt the same about Anakin and Padme." She sighed as if she was embarrassed to admit it. After she'd first found out she was Vader's daughter, she had vehemently refused for Luke to describe their father of old. She didn't want to hear tales of Vader as a former Jedi Knight serving in the clone wars or as a hero fighting alongside a young Saw Gerrera. As a compassionate, adventurous, man defending homeworlds or a secretly devoted husband to a beautiful Senator. She'd known him as a monster who'd tortured her and her friends, who'd obliterated her planet and "parents" along with it. A machine that chased the Rebellion across the galaxy and left nothing but death, destruction, and terror in his wake. No, she didn't wish to know who Anakin Skywalker was.

It was Padme first, that she'd let Luke share with her. He brought holos back from Naboo: tours of the Naberrie household where she grew up, the Palace of Theed where she'd reigned as Queen at just fourteen years of age. Through archives of the Senate, Royal House of Naboo, and even old holonet news channels, they were able to piece together a semblance of the remarkable woman their mother had been. She'd even been friends with the Organas and Mon Mothma and helped build the quiet movement that evolved into the very Rebellion that Leia led. It was only through Padme Amidala, that Leia's interest in Anakin Skywalker grew. If Padme had been drawn to him, had fallen so in love with him that she would compromise her morals and wed him in secret...he must've been remarkable too...before he lost his way. Ben's turn had also softened Leia's heart towards Anakin.

"Your birth parents?" Rey's question knocked Leia out of her thoughts.

"Mhm."

The Scavenger lowered her mug to her lap as if it would help her listen more attentively, "What helps you?"

The General took a deep breath and crinkled her eyebrows in thought. "I think about the best they could've been. About the happiest life might've been with them and I live in it for a moment." Not that she would take back her life as an Organa for anything; She cherished her childhood on Alderaan. Adored her parents. But she did think about that other life sometimes and dreamed about how different it might've been. What would it have been like to grow up as Leia Naberrie Skywalker on Naboo with her brother? What would Padme's voice have sounded like calling them in to dinner? To see Anakin's smile of pride as he guided her and Luke in making their lightsabers? Would they have taken family trips to the Lars farm? Visited an Uncle Ben Kenobi?

But that's not how her life had gone. And those images belonged in daydreams. The task at hand was to make Rey feel better, not make them both feel worse. "Then I let it be. And I find something positive about the life I _have_ lived and the people I've loved because of it."

Rey nodded, "Like Han," elaborating on the thought, for the General.

Leia smiled. Then she gestured towards Rey, "Like Finn."

Then it was Rey's turn to smile. Though small and close-lipped, it was appreciative. Finn was an immovable source of light in her life, the most loyal and supportive friend a person could have. If circumstances were the least bit different, they might've never known the other existed. The thought of that felt like a loss just as heart-wrenching as that of her parents...and in and of itself, made her present a tad more comforting.

Noticing that the girl had finished her drink,"What did you think of the tea?" Leia took both their mugs and placed them on that counter. (She'd get to rinsing them out in the morning).

"Very good. Thank you." With a grateful expression, she added, "For everything. I'm sorry I interrupted your rest."

The General put up a hand and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. If you need to talk again, I'm here."

Artoo interrupted by rolling back in and beeping that the Falcon was clear, that everyone was asleep...and that Chewbacca was snoring incredibly loud.


End file.
